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Colorado confirms more oil spills but flood flows complicate clean-up

A view of the South Platte river, south of Milliken Colorado on September 19, 2013. Colorado oil and gas conservation commission investigators visited the site later and determined no petroleum products spilled and no equipment was damaged. This caption has been updated to reflect the investigators' findings. (Andy Cross, The Denver Post)

State regulators raised their tally of oil and gas storage tanks toppled in the flood to 24 and documented more spills Friday, bringing the total to more 22,000 gallons of oil contaminating Colorado's South Platte River valley.

It remained uncertain Friday whether all spills will be cleaned up or if companies will be held accountable. Storage tanks generally hold 12,600 gallons of oil.

The growing spill volumes still are small by oil and gas industry standards, and they rank low in comparison with other contaminants leaked this past week as debris-filled floodwaters rushed through northern Colorado. Other industrial chemicals and agricultural waste, including runoff from feedlots, seeped into flood torrents — not to mention millions of gallons of municipal sewage from compromised water treatment plants.

However, oil and gas industry drilling along waterways has been a controversial issue as Front Range residents urge stricter environmental protection. A formal rule-making to protect waterways, deferred by state regulators since 2008, still is not scheduled for consideration.

Colorado Department of Natural Resources spokesman Todd Hartman said identified spills "will have to be cleaned up, recognizing that contaminants of all kinds have been moved and dispersed with floodwaters. That will create challenges in certain cases with tying impacted areas to specific parties, but operators will be accountable for cleanup when appropriate and when possible."

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"This remains a dynamic situation where we are still assessing impacts," he said. "It's hard at this stage to detail the various actions that may be needed."

Gov. John Hickenlooper on Thursday said the spills "weren't excessively large."

His chief of staff, Roxane White, added on Friday that "obviously, any spill is bad."

White said one concern is abandoned wells in the flood zone, noting some companies have helped identify several. Another is simply tracking the mess at compromised facilities, she said. "We don't know what has moved out in waterways and what is still remaining."

Among the worst spills identified, two confirmed Friday along the South Platte near Evans spewed 2,400 gallons from an Anadarko Petroleum Corp. site and 800 gallons from a Bayswater Exploration and Production facility.

Another spill reported by Anadarko has not been measured. PDC reported production equipment largely washed away at an undetermined site. State officials said they're working with PDC to determine how much material was there before flooding began Sept. 12.

On Wednesday, Anadarko reported two spills in Weld County — about 5,225 gallons into the South Platte River near Milliken and about 13,500 gallons from a tank farm into the St. Vrain River near Platteville.

Gas wells and oil storage tanks surrounded with flood water in Weld County near the town of Milliken on Sept. 19, 2013. (Andy Cross, The Denver Post)

Colorado's Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, charged with regulating and promoting the industry, is tracking company reports of spills and plans full investigations. Under state rules, companies are allowed 10 days to submit written spill reports. Some are reporting spills sooner, and COGCC teams are conducting ground and aerial surveys with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency support.

The number of active oil and gas wells statewide has surpassed 51,000 this year — 20,500 in Weld County, 321 in Boulder County, 253 in Larimer County. State regulations require oil and gas equipment in the floodplain to be anchored to resist flotation.

Colorado's rules allow drilling next to waterways, with restrictions. Oil and gas wells are prohibited within 300 feet of prime fishing streams and for 5 miles above intake facilities on streams tapped for municipal drinking water. COGCC officials in 2008 declined to address this issue and committed to look at setback requirements in the future.

"A stronger setback in riparian areas would likely not have made much difference with this 100-year flood," Hartman said Friday. "The flood has inundated 17,000 acres and the rivers' channels have changed, making a riparian setback unlikely to have prevented inundation of pads in this context."

Yet setbacks from waterways "may still have merit and will be worth exploring" as state regulators assess the flood, he said.

Environmental groups also tracking contamination called for better protection against future floods.

Colorado and the industry "made a terrible mistake" by allowing drilling along waterways, Clean Water Action director Gary Wockner said.

"The state needs to immediately launch a new rule-making process for drilling and fracking near rivers, streams and floodplains."

Oil booms spread across a creek from an Anadarko site south of Milliken on Sept. 19, 2013. (Andy Cross, The Denver Post)

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